Reserve-supply device for gasoline tanks



une 1 1926.

E. W. KRUSE RESERVE SUPPLY DEVICE FOR GASOLINE TANKS Filed Dec .714 1925I and in which Patented June 1, 192- EDWARD W. KRUSE, OF CHICAGO,ILLINOIS.

RESERVE-SUPPLY DEVICE FOR GASOLINE TANKS.

Application filed. December This invention relates to a class of devicesquite extensively used on gasoline tanks for maintaining, during normalrunning, a reserve supply of gasoline in the tank to notii'y the driverof the car when the supply is running low, and afi'ord him s'ufiicientgasoline to reach the nearest filling station after he has beennotified, by the stoppage oi the motor through lack of fuel, that hisgas tank needs replenishment.

One object of the present invention is to provide a simple andinexpensive accessory for maintaining a reserve supply in the tank whichmay be readily applied to t 1e supply line from/the tank to thecarburetor in all installations using agravity fiow. Another object isto provide such a device wherein a single valve may perform thethree-fold, ilTLlIlCtlOIl of, first, maintaining the reserve supply ofgasoline intact during normal running, second, bringing into use thereserve supply when required, and, third, cutting off the gas line tothe carburetor and facilitating the locking thereof in cut-01f position,this latter being in the nature of an antitheft provision.

Other objects and attendant advantages of the invention will be apparentto persons skilled in the art as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description, taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings wherein I have illustrated one practicaland approved embodiment of the principle of the invention,

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a fragment of agasoline tank, a known formofs'ediment trap and dram connected to the bottom of the tank, and myimproved reserve supply device connected inbetween the sediment trap andthe flow line tothe carburetor;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the sediment trap and reserve supplydevice viewed from the right of Fig l, and showing the valve in cut-oilposition, with a lock, indicated in dotted lines, applied to the valvehandle;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the valve and associated levelingdevice, on the line 3-8 of Fig. 2, the valve appearing in cut-ofltposition;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section in a plane at right angles to that of Fig.3 on the line 4-4 of Fig.3; 7'

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the valve in normalrunning posi- 14, 1925. Serial No. 75,175.

tion wherein the reserve supply is maintained intact;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the valve shifted a hall turnto effect the flow of the reserve supply;

F ig. 7 is a fragmentary View showing the position of the valve handlecorresponding to the normal running position shown in Fig. 5; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view showing the position of the valve handlewhen running on the reserve, corresponding to Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawings, at 10 is indicated a fragment of a gasolinetank of the type commonly mounted in front or" the dash and below thedeck or hood of an automobile and supplying gasoline to the carburetorby gravity flow; a familiar type of such tank being that employed on thelatest models of the welhknown Ford car. Connected into the bottom 01the tank, as by a threaded joint 11, is a. combined elbow and sedimenttrap 12, this member as herein shown, copying the device now used on theFord car. This member is equipped with-a cock 13 for turning thegasoline on and off, and on the upper portion of the sediment bulb is aninternally tapped boss 14 which, in standard practice, receives an elbow(not shown) connecting it with the pipe line to the carburetor. Inapplying the device of the present invention, this elbow is discarded,and replaced by the improved level controlling valve next to bedescribed.

15 designates as an entirety a casting, through which is -formed atapered bore 16 (Fig. 3) that constitutes a'seat for a rotary three-wayvalve body 17. On one side of the casting is a horizontal threadednipple 18 (Fig. 4) which screws into the tapped boss 14 and forms asupport torthe casting. On the lower end of the casting is a verticalthreaded nipple l9 to-which the gasoline. flow pipe 20 is united, as bya nut 21 (Fig. 2). A horizontal duct- 22 through the nippic 18 and thebody of the casting opens at its inner end through the valve seat 16. Avertical duct 23 through the nipple 19 and the body of the casting opensat its upper or inner endthrough the valve seat 16 in the same verticalplane as the duct 22. Another vertical duct 24, in line with thevertical duct 23, opens at its lower end through the valve seat 16 andat its upper end into a tapped recess or socket 25 in the top of thecasting 15. An oblique duct 26 in the castmg connects the duct 22 withthe re tPFS Fitted into the vertical duct 24 is a pipe 37 which extendsabove the top of the castng 15 to a point suiliciently above the botomot the gasoline tankto normally mainain liquid level in the latter whichwill aii'ord a reserve of approximately a gallon of gasoline in thetank. Surrounding the pipe 27 and at its lower end screwed into thetapped socke is a larger pipe 28 closed at its upper end by a wall 29 onwhich is formed a threaded nipple 30, the wall 29 and nipple 30 beingslightly elevated above the top of the leveling pipe 2?. The nipple 30is formed with a minute-longitudinal duct or passage 31, and to saidnipple is attached in a liquid-tight manner the lower end ot'a siphonbreaker pipe 32 which extends upwardly to or above the maximum liquidlevel of the tank 10. A simple connection of the pipe 32 to the nipple30 may be made in a manner shown in Fig. fl, wherein it will be seenthat the lower end of the pipe is swaged outwardly to lit over theconical upper end of the nipple, and the swaged portion is drawn intotight contact with the nipple by a clamp nut 33.

The valve 17 is drawn into tight engagement with its seat.- by thewell-known device of a thrust spring 34 encircling a reduced extension17 of the valve, and abutment washers and 36, the former abuttingagainst the side of the casting around the end of the valve seat and thelatter abutting against a cotter pin 37.

The three-way valve body 17 is formed with a diametric duct or way 38,and with a branch-duct or way 39 at right angles to the duct 38 betweenthe latter and the periphery of the valve body.

The other or wide end of the valve body projects beyondthe valve casingand is formed with a dianietrie slot 40 in which is pivoted, on a pin41, the inner end of a valve handle 42. This valve handle is preferablyformed as a flat strip having its radially projecting portion or handleproper warped through an angle of ninety degrees so as to present twoflat sides lying in planes transverse to the axis of the valve when thehandle is in any of its working positions. As shown in Figs. 7 and 8.one side of the handle may be blank, and the other may carry the lettersRES, or other symbol to indicate that when the same is displayed to viewthe reserve supply is being used. I

In normal operation, the valve occupies the position shown in 5, and thehandle in the pendant position illustrated in Fig. T with the blank sideshowing. Assuming that the gasoline tank is full, the liquid flowsthrough the oblique duct 26 into the annular space between the pipes 27and 28, rising through the nipple duct 31 and the siphon breaker pipe tothe level of the liquid in the tank. At the same time, the gasoline isfree to tlow down 'ardly through the pipe 27, valve duct 38 and nippleduct to and through the supply line 20; and this condition will continueuntil the level in the tank falls to the level of the top oi the siphonpi )e 27, at which point it will cease to iiow, thereby notifying thedriver that the gas supply is low. Thercupon the driver will swing thehandle .2 on its pivot upwardly to a position above the valve, and willthen turn the handle to the right through a halt circle, bringing it tothe position indicated in 8. This shifts the valve through 180 to theposition snowu in Fig. (5, wherein the reserve supply of gasoline in thetank is free to How through the nipple duct and valve ducts 3S and 39into the lower nipple duct 23 and thence to the supply line 20. As soonthe tank has been replenished, the valve handle will again be swungupwardly and then through a half turn to the right, restoring it to theposition shown in Fig. T.

The purpose of providing the relatively fine nipple duct 31 in thesiphon breaker line is to prevent loss of gasoline by jolting from theupper end of the siphon breaker pipe 32, and avoid the necessity ofextending the latter pipe to an undue height. I have found by experimentthat, unless the siphon breaker line is partially throttled at somepoint, considerable gasoline is jolted out and wasted from the upper cudoi the siphon breaker.

To economize space in the transverse dimensions of the valve casing, thelower end of the outer pipe 28 may be beveled, as indicat-ed in Figs. 4,and 6, to provide greater clearance for the flow of the gasoline throughthe upper end of the duct 26.

lvhen the driver has occasion to leave the car standing unguarded, thegasoline supply line may be cut oh" by turning the handle 42 to thehorizontal position shown in Fig. 2 wherein it lies alongside thenipple'18, and the handle may he lacked to the latter by an ordinarypadlock 4-3 indicated in dotted lines. The position of the valvecorresponding to this position of the handle is shown in Fig. l, whereinit will be seen that the nipple duct 23 constituting part of the flowline to the carburetor is occluded by the solid side of the valve.

\Vith the present attachment the regular cut-oft valve 13 is notnecessary, but, it retained will, of course, be left continuously open.

lVhile I have herein shown and described onepractical embodiment of theinvention which, in actual service, has been found to satistactorilyefi'ectuate the stated purposes and objects thereof, it is manifest thatthe structural features shown and described may be variously modifiedwithout departlng from the substance of the invention or 7 ing acircular valve seat, high and low flow passages both opening into saidvalve seat through ports located ninety degrees apart,

and a discharge passage t'roin said valve seat, a rotary three-way valvefitted to said seat controlling the flow through said passages and portsand operative in one position thereof to out 05 said discharge passagefrom both said high and low flow passages, a siphon breakercommunicating with said high flow passage, and a handle pivoted to oneend of said valve to swing in a plane of the axis of said valve wherebyeither side of said handle may be brought intoview from a point oppositeone end of said valve. 2. The combination with a gasoline tank, and asupply pipe coupling connected into and communicating with the lowerportion of said tank, of a valve casting formed with a lateral nippleadapted for connect-ion to said coupling, a discharge nipple adapted forconnectionto the supply pipe, a valve seat ported for communication withboth said nipples, a vertical duct between its upper end and said valveseat, and an oblique duct between its upper end and the bore of saidlateral nipple, an inner pipe registering at its lower end with saidvertical duct'and having an open upper end located above the level ofthe bottom of said tank, an outer pipe mounted on the upper end of saidcast ing around said first named pipe and forming with the latter anannular flow passage with which the upper end of said oblique ductcommunicates, a valve fitted to said valve seat and formed with ductscontrolling the flow through said nipples and valve casting ducts, and asiphon breaker pipe connected to the top of said outer pipe andextending to the level of the top of said tank.

3. A specific form of claim 2, wherein the said outer pipe is formed onits upper end with a nipple having a minute bore, and said siphonbreaker pipe is attached to said nipple, whereby splashing of gasolinein said siphon breaker pipe is checked.

4. A specific form of claim 2, wherein said valve and valve seat arecircular in crosssection, and said valve is rotatable in said valve seatbetween three positions, in one of which it causes an up and down flowthr ugh said oblique duct, annular flow passage and inner pipe to thedischarge nipple, in another of which it causes a direct flow from saidlateral nipple to said discharge nipple, and in the third of which itcuts off the flow through said discharge nipple.

5. In combination with the subject-matter of claim 2, a handle somounted on said valve that when the latter has been turned to cut offthe flow through the discharge nipple, said handle will lie alongside ofand substantially parallel with one of said nipples whereby it may belocked to the latter.

EDWARD N. KRUSE.

